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Sunday, June 18, 2017

Mad About Trump, by MAD Magazine

MAD magazine used to be, and sometimes still is, very funny. In Mad About Trump they gather together a wide array of satirical comics, fake ads, campaign posters, etc., in a collection skewering President Trump. The result is rather unfunny.

On the one hand, they follow the standard Trump comedy lines: he has funny hair, he has orange skin (Now it's OK to make fun of someone's skin color, as long as his name is Trump.), he has a lot of money and flaunts it, he sends spontaneous tweets. Trump provides us with lots to make fun of and lots to laugh about, but the MAD folks spend too much time laughing at the obvious.

On the other hand, they take the vitriolic tone of anti-Trump comedians and perpetuate the canard that Trump is nothing but a sexist, misogynist, racist, xenophobic, homophobic, moronic, joke of a political candidate and now office holder. They are following the path of all those comedians who have given up humor for spiteful ad hominem criticism. As they have learned, their audiences respond to this. (Comedian: "I hate Trump." Audience: "Hahahaha! Such wit! Such astute political insight! Such unabashed truth!")

So, yeah, as you can tell, I'm a conservative who voted for Trump. You might not be able to tell, but I do have a sense of humor. Some of the anti-Trump humor in Mad About Trump was funny, but mostly MAD's easy shots of left-wing Trump overtook any genuine political satire and the universally funny material they have long been known for.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the complimentary electronic review copy!